


nothing left to say

by massivenope



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-26
Updated: 2013-06-28
Packaged: 2017-12-09 07:05:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/771406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/massivenope/pseuds/massivenope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn broke Liam’s heart in high school. It was one of his biggest regrets but now, six years later he was a different man living a different life. So when he sees Liam in the most unexpected place, he shouldn’t have been surprised to find out that Liam wasn’t the same person anymore either.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Ex Factor](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/20523) by AngelAtTwilight. 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> liam is on the verge of some big things. he's nervous and he's excited. what could possibly go wrong?  
> harry pee's on someone  
> zayn is subject to excited louis who was subject to shirtless liam

"I don't even know what to say." Liam whirled around and beamed at his best friend and her fiancé. They were in the lounge of Liam's new apartment surrounded by foam cubes, bubble wrap and tissue. Bridget and Niall just smiled proudly at each other with Niall's arms casually placed around Bridget's waist.  
"Niall picked it out." She offered, not able to keep the giant grin off her face in seeing her best friend smile.  
Niall shook his head and swatted the air in front of him as if to brush the comment off. "It's not a big deal, mate. Bridget," he squeezed her hip as he said her name, "and I both agreed it would suit your new home and it's very…"  
"You!" she finished for him when he started to gesture and snap his fingers and scrunched up his eyes to find a way to describe the giant canvass in front of them.  
The three were facing Liam's housewarming present. An abstract oil painting - all bold strokes and hard edges - of a combination of blue, brown and streaks of white. He wasn't much of an art guy but even he could appreciate good art especially when it was standing in the middle of his living room. And he couldn't help but agree with his friends. "It will be perfect right up there!" Liam made a rectangle in the air, just above the bare wall above his TV.  
When Bridget and Niall announced their engagement they had also mentioned the possibility of buying their own home together. They thought it would give Liam enough time to prepare himself financially and emotionally - he has been best friends with Bridget since high school after all! - to get his own place. The couple were anxious about breaking the news of the move but Liam assured them that it was a great decision and it was a perfect time for him to move as well, what with all the changes in his life this year. And anyway he wasn't going to be alone in the apartment if that's what they were so worried about. He had Harry.  
"Sorry! I'm so sorry!" The tall, lanky boy with a mop of curls stumbled into the apartment with a pile of brown paper packages in his arms. "There was a mixup at the store-" He dropped the boxes on to the couch and brushed the curls away from his eyes. His face dropped just a little. "You started without me."  
Liam raised an eyebrow at him. "You told us to start if you were late?"  
Niall shook his head. "Mate, you're an hour late."  
Harry looked at his watch and grinned at them sheepishly. "Ooops, well then." His eyes fell to the explosion of packaging in front of him and then to the painting. "WOAH! LIAM!"  
"I know." Liam breathed. It was beautiful. Not only did it come wrapped in four layers, it was in a crate. And it came with a certificate of authenticity and a signature from the artist to prove that it was legit and that it was the only one of it's kind in the entire world.  
"Awesome! Time for my housewarming presents!" Harry announced. The boy was about as tall as Liam but his long limbs made him appear taller although he was two years younger. But he was like a five-year-old trapped in a man's body. He may be Bridget's little brother who tagged alongside them during highschool was one of the most kind and genuine people Liam has ever known. Liam treats Harry as if they were blood and Harry feels the same way. That's why when the discussion of moving houses was on the table, Harry asked Liam if he could move in with him for the next few years of uni. Liam was more than happy to have Harry with him even though Bridget and Niall would have been just as glad.  
Bridget scoffed. "Harry this is your apartment too." She said something to Niall who bent down and dug through the tissue and bubble wrap to pick up a box full of LPs and handed it to Harry.  
Harry's jaw dropped. "Are you serious??" His eyes became green sparkling orbs in his head as he slowly sat down next to his forgotten presents for Liam and started rifling through the records.  
"Oi, where's your present for me?" Liam demanded.  
Without looking at Liam, Harry picked a random package and chucked it at him.  
*  
Harry placed the final LP on his shelves and stepped back to admire his handiwork. Arranged by genre in alphabetical order. He smiled and nodded. He rubbed his hands together and left his room to walk towards the lounge. "Great job, Harold."  
"Harry are you talking to yourself again?" Liam was on a stepladder sticking hooks on the wall above his tv with his back to Harry.  
He plopped joyfully on to the sofa and just smiled at Liam. Today was a good day. He just got his assignment back with great marks, he got the cute barista's number and he got a whole box full of vintage LPs from his sister. Could it get any better?  
"What could?"  
Harry blinked at Liam, forgetting he was there. Harry had a tendency to float off into his own world. "What could what?" He asked his friend slowly.  
Liam rolled his eyes. "You just said "Could this get any better?" What did you mean?"  
Harry's hand came up to his mouth. "Did I say that out loud?"  
His friend chuckled and shook his head. "Give me a hand will you?"  
Harry looked properly and saw that Liam had cleared the ladder from where it was before and was dragging the painting towards the tv. He stood up and took the other end.  
"I think we should um, we should move the tv?" Harry said just before Liam listed how they were going to hang the canvass.  
But the older boy shook his head. "We should be able to do it. " Liam crouched, poised to lift when Harry straightened up and placed his hands on his hips as he looked from the painting to the wall.  
He heard Liam's exasperated sigh and said "Cool. But like, it's the only one of its kind. If it fell it could break your tv and it could rip. but..." He shrugged.  
Liam growled at him but for the next 5 minutes they moved furniture around and finally they got the painting up on the wall. They put everything back in its place and both boys stepped back. Harry shook his head and brushed his curly hair away from his eyes, Liam dusted his hands off.  
"We should go out." Harry said mostly to himself.  
"Hmm?" Liam was still admiring the painting but he cocked his head to his friend's direction.  
"I reckon we should celebrate this day, Liam. It's been incredible." He walked towards Liam until they stood side by side and put his arm around him. "Hasn't it been incredible Liam?"  
Liam couldn't help but nod and smile at that. It has been an incredible day. The move went well. Harry's presents were ridiculous but a lot were actually practical. A night out probably wouldn't hurt.  
"Yeah. Okay." Liam said, hesitation still evident in his voice.  
"Yeah?" Harry asked again. Liam had been under a lot of pressure lately, plus the move - he didn't want to add unnecessary stress on Liam but Harry knew the guy well enough that if no one brought it up he wouldn't even consider taking a break. Dude worked too hard. So Harry shook his friend encoragingly and squeezed his shoulder. "I know a new club that just opened downtown."  
And Liam looked more sure when he nodded. "Give me 10 minutes."  
*  
"Where the fuck are you??" Louis screamed into his phone. He was walking through a mass of sweaty bodies gyrating and dancing to the loud music while Louis tried to make his way to the toilets. "I've been here for 2 freaking hours I'm drunk!"  
"Got held up at work!" Zayn replied from the other end. "Sounds like a rager and you never get drunk Louis!"  
Louis shrugged and remembered his friend couldn't see him. So he screamed into his phone "that's a very fair point my friend but you're killing me here. Can't believe you're ditching me for work. AT MIDNIGHT!" The last two words uttered with such incredulity as he stepped into the men's toilets. The muffled bass leaked into the small space.  
"Louis you know-" Zayn started his rant about work and home and the tendency for those lines to blur, which made Louis roll his eyes and space out. It was Zayn's fault really. Zayn went on these work/home rants so often that Louis just ended up falling asleep - or something close to not giving any fucks. Looking back, Louis really couldn't be blamed when he absently pushed into an unlocked cubicle only to find that there was already someone there. He didn't know until said someone spun around in shock, effectively spraying Louis with his pee.  
"Fucking what the fucking fuck?!" Louis screamed - his brand new chinos got pee splattered on them.  
"Oops!" The curly-haired guy quickly hid his goods - but not before Louis inadvertently got a good look (and this guy was well-endowed) and grinned. "Hiiii!"  
"Hi??? Hi?? You peed on me you prick!" Louis' blood was boiling. His friend had bailed on him and he ha such a terrible day at work. Of course he'd get peed on tonight.  
"I didn't mean to-" the boy said in a thick voice his words drawling out of his mouth slowly. "You didn't knock!"  
He looked so excited about everything, Louis wanted to punch the smile off his beautiful face. Wait, what?  
"I'm Harry." He said with a smile and extended his hand only to pull back and look at it. He hasn't washed.  
Louis just glared at him. Zayn wasn't coming so he'd have no one to go home with. He wanted a nice, uncomplicated lay tonight but all of a sudden he was just too tired. With a glare at the green-eyed boy, Louis turned on his heels, left the bathroom and called a cab.  
*  
He was having a dream about eating pizza with Niall while watching a reality TV show of his life. They were waiting for Bridget and the doorbell rang in the middle of Liam talking to the camera about which shampoo to buy. That was funny since he had a buzz cut. The doorbell kept ringing but neither of them stood up to see who it was. The doorbell kept ringing and the muffled sounds in his dream became clear. the doorbell kept ringing and he could hear Harry.  
"LIAAAAAM!!!!!"  
Liam shot awake but the doorbell from his dream was still ringing. "What?" he asked groggily, his head pounding.  
"LIAM NO ONE KNOWS I LIVE HERE!" Harry yelled from his bedroom.  
Liam groaned as he rolled over. He ached all over, he could remember nothing from the night before and there was no one in his bed. He really wasn't one for one-night stands but he couldn't help but feel relieved nonetheless. Harry always said that if you couldn't remember what happened the night before you probably just had the best night of your life. As long as there's no stranger on your bed. He got off the bed and pulled on a grey pair of sweats hanging on a chair. He let it hang low on his hips and made his way to the door. He scratched his chest in between stretching and shuffling to the door.  
"I'm coming!" he yelled between doorbell rings. He got that it might have taken a while for them to pick up but it seemed like the person behind the door was in a hurry. As if there was some sort of emerg-  
He ran to the door only realising that it could possibly be Niall or Bridget. Something could have happened to either of them!  
He pulled the door open so quickly that the lean boy standing in front of him looked slightly terrified. He was wearing a dark-blue fitted suit, his hair looking like it was styled with so much care. He had a bit of stubble and thin lips. He was holding a basket with wine and flowers.  
Liam blinked at him, crazy scenarios still flashing before his eyes as relief started to seep through his veins. "Yes?" he finally managed to say.  
"Delivery for a Mr. James?" snapped the delivery boy. man. boyman? He had recovered from the sudden welcome and had put on a bitch face but Liam didn't miss him rake his eyes up and down Liam's body.  
It made Liam feel a bit self conscious but he didn't make any move to cover up. The guy's eyes lingered on Liam's chest, red with marks from when he was scratching it before.  
It took a second to register before Liam nodded. "Oh, yes. I'm him. What's this?"  
The guy just looked from the basket to Liam and raised an eyebrow at him. As though saying it should be quite obvious what it was. Just then Liam's phone buzzed. It was on the kitchen counter so Liam lifted a finger at the delivery guy and ran to the kitchen.  
"Did you get the wine i sent you?" It was Lou Atkins, his publisher extraordinaire. He glanced over his shoulder, surprised to find Delivery Guy had walked in to the apartment and was now openly surveying it.  
"Yes," Liam hissed into the phone. "As well as the sassy delivery guy??"  
"Sassy wh-?" And then Lou started laughing. "Oh my god, hand him the phone, will you?"  
Liam, confused as ever, handed the phone wordlessly to the well-dressed delivery man, "Lou."  
"Yeah?" he asked, surprised.  
Liam frowned. "It's my… my publisher Lou Atkins she wants to-"  
Delivery Guy blinked. "Oh! I thought," he laughed as he took the phone and passed the basket to Liam. "Hello Lou darling!" he turned around and started walking around Liam's lounge.  
He placed the basket on his kitchen counter and looked at the stranger in his home. "Can you close the door on your way out?" he called out.  
Delivery Guy just looked over his shoulder at him, nodded and waved him off.  
Liam needed a shower. It has been a way too bizarre morning for him and it's only - he glanced at his watch - freaking 12pm? WHAT? He slept the entire morning away?  
He sighed and had a much needed shower.

Twenty minutes later he came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. He made sure he didn't glance down the hall in case intrusive well-dressed stranger was still in his house. He also took time picking out his clothes for the day even though he ended up with his standard dark jeans and blue checked top paired with a pair of classic white chucks. He was well over his hangover, he handled those quite well, except he knew he would have felt better if he got to go for his morning run. But he needed to get some work done so with a deep breath he went outside.  
*  
"Sometimes I thank the heavens for my connections to high places. Sometimes I shake my fist at it." Louis loved opening calls dramatically.  
There was silence from the other end.  
"Zayn!" He snapped.  
"What? I'm waiting for you to elaborate." he said innocently, but Louis could hear the smile in his voice. Louis rolled his eyes. Sometimes he wondered how he became - let alone STAYED - friends with Zayn Malik. They met at uni and got along surprisingly well despite a difference in… well, everything, really. Three years saw Zayn through multiple Louis breakdowns and messy breakups but Louis can only ever remember Zayn falling apart for one person and they never talked about it. His friend dropped out of uni two months into his final year but they continued to stay friends. Louis' career path put a constant frown on Zayn's perfect face but neither of them could really beat the other about it. They both endured degrees they didn't really enjoy but they're both now doing what they loved to do. Zayn just got there before Louis could.  
"What is up your ass, Malik?" Louis demanded. "Wait, no. What's NOT up your ass?"  
He only heard his friend scoff. "Will you just talk, I have work to do."  
Louis sat up in his seat and flicked his fringe away from his eyes. "Oh sorry for taking up so much of your precious time, m'lord. I'm not having a crisis here."  
Zayn sighed. "Lou, I'm sorry. I love you but I need to get three more done by the end of next week and I'm really wrung out right now."  
Louis pouted. "Aww Zaynie. I'm sorry I can't help out. Or maybe I can? I can pose for you. You know I'm not shy about my goods."  
His friend started laughing, which relieved Louis because Emo Zayn was not a good Zayn. "Just tell me what happened, yeah?"  
Louis settled back into his office chair and relayed the events of that morning to his friend. "So then he flings the door open and what is he wearing? NOTHING!"  
He heard his friend gasp. As much as it takes Zayn some prodding to humour Louis' rants he was always the best listener. He laughed and reacted at the right times regardless of whether they were together in person or not.  
"Or practically nothing, anyway." Louis said with a swat of his hand.  
His office door opened and a tall girl with long, wavy brown hair popped her head in. "Lou, there's a call for you on line 1?" she said cheerfully. She was gorgeous, with legs to die for and a cute face with a cute chin and nose. She was great for business - men who came in asking for advice trusted her and women who came in didn't want to doubt her. It was perfect.  
"Hold on, Zayn." He covered the receiver and said, "Babe, you're my assistant for a reason. Assist! I'm on the phone with the love of my life. Handle it for me please? Love you!" he blew her a kiss and he could have sworn he saw red stain her cheeks. That was weird.  
"So anyway," he continued when the door closed. "He is this giant of a man but he's half naked and he looks like a deer in headlights."  
Zayn laughed. "Poor guy."  
"I know! And I didn't want to- you know I kept it in my pants. But damn when I saw those scratch marks on his chest I wanted to lick them like there was no tomorrow."  
"Louis did you barge in on a customer while he was having morning sex?" Zayn said slowly.  
He never really thought about that. He just thought it looked to freaking hot. He shook the picture out of his head and said, "Well, technically HE wasn't the customer. Here's the thing," he started to whisper conspiratorially into the phone. "He's an up and coming writer. Well, he's already written a book that's turning 5 in a few months or something but his new book he's working on is genius."  
"How…?"  
"Sssh. His publisher is a good friend of mine. She told me all about it."  
"Really? That doesn't sound very professional." Zayn said doubtfully.  
"Oh Zaynie, mine and Lou's friendship goes BEYOND professionalism. I am going to father her children if she wasn't already married. But for now I will settle with being godfather to her baby girl. All of this while Mr. James got his freak on in the shower."  
He nodded dramatically as Zayn recovered from his laughter. "Ohhh, Louis. Sometimes I wonder…"  
Louis smiled widely at that. Zayn didn't have to finish that sentence so he just said, "I wonder too, Zayn. I wonder too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys thanks so much for your comments. i'm writing this fic as i go and i have work so forgive me if it takes a while to churn out a new chapter. as you can see the chapter isn't very long either. hope that's okay and hope you enjoyed it anyway/ xx


	2. prologue

**Bridget**

“Is that-” Bridget started to say but she quickly stopped herself. But it was too late, apparently because Niall turned to look at what Bridget had been looking. She tried to shush him but her outburst was so random that Niall didn’t pick up straight away that she really DIDN’T want him asking questions. Their exchange made Harry look and so did Liam. It was a chain reaction of head turning that made Bridget go cold all over as she watched each boy turn his head towards the people in the opposite table almost like in slow motion. She wanted to stab herself with a fork and possibly the other boys too just to keep them from looking. But her eyes stayed, unwavering, on Liam. The only one who mattered right that moment. His head snapped back to Bridget - his eyes hard, jaw set - and a crease etched itself between his brows.

“Who is-” Niall started to ask as he turned back but his confused face turned serious when he saw the way Bridget looked at Liam. His eyes shot from his fiancée to her best friend and he swallowed his question.

**Liam**

Liam was disorientated. One second Bridget was all bubbly and excited as she took them through final decisions of flowers and papers for the wedding, the next he was looking across a crowded room right at the very person that made his life hell.

In an instant he felt smothered - the lighting was too dim, the chairs were too stuffy, he was too sweaty. From across the table he saw Bridget’s lips form words in slow motion, he felt cold sweat on his neck, and as if he was underwater and he finally managed to break through the surface, the noise of the restaurant and the sound of his best friend rang in his ears.

“Liam-” Bridget said, the sound of concern and apprehension thick in her voice which made his heart constrict. He didn’t want her worrying. He was fine.

He stood up suddenly. “Toilet.” He grunted. He squeezed past Harry and Niall in such a hurry only to slam straight into the waiter coming to their table with their drinks. Cold seeped through his shirt and his jeans as shattering glass and profuse apologies reached his ears. And then, more than the ice cold drinks and the feeling of drowning, a voice dropped a cold, hard knot inside of him.

“Liam? Is… is that you?”

He was shivering. and he knew it wasn’t from the Coke. He felt Bridget’s small, warm hands graze his fingers as he looked at her. He wasn’t fine. No, he wasn’t. Not after hearing that voice again. Liam didn’t care if desperation seeped through his eyes when he looked to Bridget for help but he could not, under any circumstances, let him see it.

He put on what he hoped was an indifferent look and faced the man who was walking up to him.

“Zayn,” he breathed out the name and it hurt just to think much less to say out loud.


	3. Chapter 3

LIAM  
  
"A million down, one more to go." Liam muttered to himself as he adjusted the final book on the shelf in his new office. He came home from his run just as Harry left to go to class. He threw a quick breakfast together and went into the office that was then still a room with a table and a bookshelf and about a million boxes. He glanced at his watch - 2.30PM - his stomach growled. He didn't even realise what time it was. He got so lost in making sure all his books were in the right places. Mind you, with over 100 in his office, it isn't even half of his collection. These were his favourites and he wanted to make sure he did them justice in their display. But with it being way past lunch and with only one more box to go, he debated skipping lunch entirely or stopping for a break.

But Liam wouldn't be where he is if he was the kind of person who didn't get the job done, so he just quickly ran out to get a snack bar and went back into the office to finish the last box. It was a small box marked Liam Personal/Office and he knew exactly what was inside. He would have packed it more carefully than any of the other items in that office but not because they were collectibles or something he wanted on display. In fact no one would ever see most of the contents but him.

He breathed as he gently opened the box to reveal a worn leather journal on top of miscellaneous things. He picked it up and cradled it in his hands. His thumb caressed the lock that kept the thick pages contained. Three black bookmarks of different widths poked out from different parts of the journal. Liam barely glanced at it before he tucked it into the bottom left drawer of his table - the one with the lock and key. He kept working, silently through the items in the box, putting them in parts of his office he thought fit. Most of them went into the drawer with the journal.

If a stranger was watching him, they wouldn't have seen a difference from the way he moved earlier in the day to when he worked on the last box. But with one glance Bridget would have known. She would have seen by the tension in his back, the way he hunched over slightly, the way his otherwise steady hands shook as he took out an item and placed it down, the way he paused and avoided looking at that locked drawer. Only Bridget would have known because she's the only other person who has seen Liam Payne broken.

\------

LOUIS  
  
"Oh no. You are not backing out on me again, Malik!" Louis was banging on Zayn's apartment door at 5pm. "Open this door right now--oh."

From behind black thick-rimmed frames blinked sleepy eyes. Zayn's dark complexion peppered with ink he's collected throughout the years were exposed when he opened the door to a crack wearing only his black boxers.

"Have you been in bed this whole time??" Louis demanded. "We had dinner plans, SIR!"

Zayn winced. "Lou, sorry I had a big night."

"Excuse me, I remember you saying you had deadlines to beat, and you cannot have a big night without me. You look like you've just been run over by a bulldozer but," Louis moved an inch closer to the gap in the door and sniffed "you've been in your house all day. You're either lying or-"

"Who's at the door, babe?" A girl with a white sheet haphazardly wrapped around her obviously naked body stood behind Zayn. Her hair was a mess but she somehow made it work. Some would have even said beautiful. But at the sight of her Louis Tomlinson's eyes narrowed.

"You did not." he hissed.

It was as if Zayn suddenly woke up. He stood up straighter, blinked at Louis as if he only saw him for the first time. His eyes followed his friend's glare and he turned to glance over his shoulder.

"Fuck." he whispered back.

With a shake of his head and a glare at Zayn, Louis' jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me, Zayn?"

Zayn leaned his head on the door that he was still holding half open and when he looked up at Louis his glazed look was completely gone. Louis could see nothing but helplessness there.

"I didn't- I swear-"

Louis Tomlinson's blood was boiling. He wanted to rip that bitch's head off and make her eat it even though that wouldn't really work. Without another thought he pushed against the door, much to Zayn's surprise, and stood across the girl.

"Oh it's you. Lewis." The girl said, seemingly unfazed by his entrance but Louis didn't miss the way she wrapped the blanket tighter around herself.

"You know how it's pronounced, _Becks_. It's good to see you," Louis gave her a scathing look from head to toe. "Indecent as always."

Rebecca said nothing but her lips thinned.

"I'm sorry but my friend Zayn here is busy and we've got dinner reservations at 6. So if you don't mind," Louis walked around her and then started pushing her towards the door, "You know the way down."

Becks was protesting but she couldn't do anything. Louis may seem spritely but he was unusually strong. The only thing she could say before he slammed the door at her face was, "My bag!"

Louis shot Zayn a pointed look but his friend was already on the couch with his face in his hands, as Louis went to the bedroom. He tiptoed over clothes strewn all over the place. He grabbed what were obviously female items of clothing, a Fendi handbag and a bedazzled iphone. He marched back to the door and when he opened it, sure enough, Rebecca was still there. "Please make sure you don't come back." He closed the door only to open it the next second. "Ever."

He was harsh and unnecessarily hostile, he knew. But he also knew Becks would be back. She was a parasite he couldn't get rid of. And somehow in some freak inconceivable reason, his friend always gravitated towards her. But as he walked towards Zayn, who hadn't said a word since Louis pushed him away, Louis was gentle. He sat next to Zayn on the couch and slowly nudge him with his shoulder.

"Zayn," he said after a few minutes of silence.

Zayn pressed his hair flat on his forehead before looking at Louis with those eyes again. "I slipped, Lou." His voice shook, as if it took every ounce of his control to not break down and cry.

Louis placed his hand on Zayn's face, to which his friend responded by leaning in and closing his eyes. Louis ran his thumb over the apple of his cheeks. "It's okay, babe. I'm here."

With those words, Zayn rolled up into himself, like a sad little ball and he just lay his head on Louis' lap. Louis, like it was what he intended to do the whole time, adjusted his body and responded to accommodate Zayn. And he just held him, like the glue he always was when Zayn was falling apart. From the outside Louis was the drama queen. Their common friends always ask Louis what he would do if Zayn just got fed up. Zayn would just look up from whatever he was doing and he and Louis would share a knowing look. At one point, Louis' put up his feet and Zayn was still leaning against him. He placed his chin on the side of Zayn's head.

"Zayn," he whispered. He waited for Zayn to answer but his friend just leaned in closer. "Zayn I think we should call your parents."

\-------

LIAM  
  
It wasn't until he heard noises in the kitchen that Liam was pulled out of his trance. His fingers, which hadn't stopped for more than a few minutes since he'd finished unpacking, hovered over the keys as he listened.

"Harry?" He called out.

The clanging stopped and after a moment there was a gentle knock on his door.

"It's open." Liam answered.

"Hey," a head of curls poked through the door. Harry was grinning sheepishly. "Did I disturb you?"  
  
Liam closed his laptop as he turned and shook his head. "Nah, I think it's about time to stop anyway."

Harry nodded and pointed towards the kitchen, "Sorry, I was trying to cook dinner, I knew you'd be working." It was only then that Harry actually looked around the office. "Oh wow." He opened the door fully and stepped into the room. "Great job, Liam! This place looks great. Did you even eat today?"

Liam smiled, his eyes crinkling up in the sides as he did so. "Thanks man, I just wanted to get some work in before this weekend, you know?"

Harry's face lit up at the mention of the coming weekend. "Ughh I know I am so stoked!" He did a little jig. Liam laughed and shook his head, the kid is the most gigantic 5-year-old he's ever known. When he finished his jig, Harry stopped and blinked at Liam. "I'm thinking of taking Amanda."

Liam's eyebrows shot up. "Really?" He tilted his head at the pensieve look on his friend's face. "Stepping it up, huh? Is it getting a bit serious?" Harry was such a free spirit, he was one of those kids you wouldn't really consider 'cool' but everyone in school knew him anyway. He was everyone's friend and was always up for some banter. He'd been going out with Amanda for a while but, like with his other relationships Liam thought they would eventually fade and end with them parting as friends. His want to bring Amanda to their annual holiday was a pretty big deal.

Harry still had that faraway look as he shrugged and said, "Maybe, I think it's different with her...." He paused for a moment, "Maybe I'm different now."

Liam nodded more to himself than to Harry. Different. Yup, that's a word he knew well.

There was a knock on their door. Harry shook his head and pulled his hair to one side and moved towards the door. "OH! That must be Bridget!"

"They didn't say there were coming over for dinner?" Liam followed behind Harry as he bounded to the door. He swung the door open and pulled his sister into a gigantic hug.

"They called while I was at the uni. I totally forgot." Harry explained.

Bridget rolled her eyes. "Honestly. What else did you forget?"

Harry stopped after he closed the door. "I think I invited Amanda over to see the place." He went to the kitchen, followed by Niall who was carrying hot dishes of food. "Or maybe it was tomorrow."

Liam and Bridget hugged and they walked to the lounge. "What did you get up to today?" she asked.

"I did some writing," He answered, "After I did the office."

"That's great, Li! Can I see it?"

Liam went to show Bridget around the little working space. He showed her the bookshelf first. It was black against light cream walls and the books were arranged according to color. Bridget clapped her hands at that but Liam shook his head. "I wasn't sure if I should go with colour, category or size but in the end I just went with this."

Bridget laughed and rubbed his back. "Nah, this is good." She chuckled. "I can't deny, the image of you deciding on what to do with this shelf is pretty golden."

After a few minutes Niall poked his head in as he knocked on the open door. "Dinner's ready."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh hey look i'm alive. we're about to get to the thick of it, don't worry. hope you liked this one.

**Author's Note:**

> i've been thinking about a twilight fan fic that a actually loved. i loved the characters and really liked the author as well. i wanted to have a go at writing a ziam fic similar to the the ex factor. reaaaally hoping this will go well and i hope i do her justice. (this is like a fan fic of a fanfic)


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